Hey all, I wanted to shoot out a quick update about the 2013 Sea Otter Classic.
This year was cooler than last year temperature wise, and I was super happy to have that in the XC race. The 50 something starters in the Cat. 1 17-18 field are brutally fast, most times in the top half of the group are competitive in the pro field. Comparing results afterward, you could also see that although my field has less racers, our times our tighter together (more competitive) than the pro field. Anyway, the race was brutal and I did alright, coming in at 29th with a time of 1 hour and 39 minutes. I am still trying to get my racing on track, I have been "off" at recent races. Hopefully I will fix it soon. Try and try again, right?
The downhill race was also super fun. I got to race in my super comfy new Unreal Cycles jersey, that breaths amazingly well for a long sleeve. I raced my big bike for this event, and ended up 21st in Cat. 2. I was pretty happy with this given that it was faster than my time from last year. This downhill event got me really stoked for lots of enduro and downhill this year, even though I was quite rusty on this race.
The venue is always fun, and I had a great time chilling with the gentlemen from Grammo and ogling all the new 2013 wares. I can't wait to race some the new product! It was also great to see the huge number of international pros attending. This years event was bigger than any i have previously attended. I was able to see and meet some of my personal cycling idols in passing, which was really cool.
I would almost say, though, that the hardest part of Sea Otter as a student is catching up after missing school. I had what seemed like endless make-up work and test after test when I got home. These are the true perils of racing.
I'll keep you posted. Check back soon.
WM
Photo Cred:
John Taylor
Julie Barton
Patrick Morin
WM